For every scientist that says man is the primary cause of climate change, you can find another who will say man is not.

WRONG! READ THE ARTICLE. It's just a month old ... it's NEWS!

[sarcasm]You see, from time to time in this modern world, new information becomes known - information that sometimes concerns important topics, or at the very least, topics that people are interested in. When this kind of new information becomes known to media outlets, they publish it in papers, on TVs, radios and on the Internet. It's called NEWS.[/sarcasm]

NEWS was made about global warming on February 2, 2007, and it was reported in the Washington Post. Apparently there was a conference of scientists from 166 countries and they agreed unanimously. Maybe you're not up on the news, but here's how that conference changed their previous findings:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Washington Post

While the summary did not produce any groundbreaking observations -- it reflects a massive distillation of the peer-reviewed literature through the middle of 2006 -- it represents the definitive international scientific and political consensus on climate science. It provides much more definitive conclusions than the panel's previous report in 2001, which said only that it was "likely" -- meaning between 66 and 90 percent probability on a scale the panel adopted -- that human activity accounted for the warming recorded over the past 50 years.

A United Nations report issued today by the world's top climate scientists said global warning was "very likely" man-made and would bring higher temperatures and a steady rise in sea levels for centuries to come regardless of how much the world slows or reduces its greenhouse gas emissions.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is made up of scientists from 113 countries, was created by the U.N. in 1988 and releases its assessments every five or six years.

"Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widspread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level," said the IPCC report.

The panel's bleak 21-page report (PDF), released officially in Paris, was aimed at laying out the how, what and why of global warming, but not to offer remedies.

The report said man-made emissions of greenhouse gases can already be blamed for fewer cold days, hotter nights, killer heat waves, floods and heavy rains, devastating droughts, and an increase in hurricane and tropical storm strength — particularly in the Atlantic Ocean.
CONT.

C'mon, sirhcyen ... I conceded there's nothing we can do about it because of China/India, and I made fun of 'Sally Hybrid' ... why can't you give in to science?

Or is global warming part orf "Intelligent Design"? THAT'S IT! Gore and the rest of us, including the 116 nations atthat conference, we're just fossil-record-hugging evolutionary atheists .... is that it?

C'mon, sirhcyen ... I conceded there's nothing we can do about it because of China/India, and I made fun of 'Sally Hybrid' ... why can't you give in to science?

Or is global warming part orf "Intelligent Design"? THAT'S IT! Gore and the rest of us, including the 116 nations atthat conference, we're just fossil-record-hugging evolutionary atheists .... is that it?

Simply because science has been, and continues to be, wrong. Thirty years ago, these same climate scientists were warning of a massive world wide iceage, due to global cooling. Now its global warming. I dont discount a legitimate approach by either side to prove it, but I wont accept it simply because 116 nations, al gore, ect says I must. The earth has been much warmer, and much colder then it is now, before the idea of man was in existance.

A United Nations report issued today by the world's top climate scientists said global warning was "very likely" man-made and would bring higher temperatures and a steady rise in sea levels for centuries to come regardless of how much the world slows or reduces its greenhouse gas emissions.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is made up of scientists from 113 countries, was created by the U.N. in 1988 and releases its assessments every five or six years.

"Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widspread melting of snow and ice, and rising global mean sea level," said the IPCC report.

The panel's bleak 21-page report (PDF), released officially in Paris, was aimed at laying out the how, what and why of global warming, but not to offer remedies.

The report said man-made emissions of greenhouse gases can already be blamed for fewer cold days, hotter nights, killer heat waves, floods and heavy rains, devastating droughts, and an increase in hurricane and tropical storm strength — particularly in the Atlantic Ocean.
CONT

Merced County beekeeper said bee losses over the winter cost him nearly $60.000.

Beekeepers nationwide are opening their hives and finding them empty, a baffling phenomenon that has researchers scratching their heads and farmers worrying about their crops.

The bees are mysteriously vanishing and no one is sure why. Instead of thriving colonies, beekeepers say they're typically finding only a queen and a few attendants left--but no trace of the other bees, not even their bodies.

Known as colony collapse disorder, the problem has affected beekeepers in 24 states and Canada, with some losing as much as 25 percent to more than 75 percent of their hives. The sudden unexplained losses have not only been a financial detriment to many beekeepers but could threaten billions of dollars worth of crops that depend on the insects for pollination.

In a legislative hearing before the House Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture in March, Gene Brandi, a Merced County beekeeper and chairman of the California State Beekeepers Association, told lawmakers that while bee losses are not uncommon, the current ailment plaguing bee colonies is much more serious.

He said about 40 percent of his colonies died over the winter, his greatest loss in 30 years of business. That equates to a loss of nearly $60,000 in pollination income and another $20,000 in bulk bee sales, plus a cost of $48,000 to restock the 800 dead hives.

"Even though my loss is substantial, other beekeepers throughout the country have suffered much great losses," he said. "Beekeepers who lost over 50 percent of their colonies will have difficulty making up their losses from their own colonies as I plan to do."

Bees pollination is involved in the production of a wide range of fruits, vegetables and forage crops, but it is perhaps most critical in the production of almonds. Nearly 1.4 million bee colonies are needed each year to help California's almond growers set nearly 600,000 acres of this crop, now worth more than $2.4 billion annually. California produces 80 percent of the world's almonds, according to the Almond Board of California.

But as California's almond acreage continues to increase, the nation's bee colonies are dwindling--from 3.2 million in 1986 to 2.4 million in 2006, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. In California, there were 380,000 bee colonies in 2006, compared to 520,000 in 1986.

To meet growers' demand, bees are brought in from all over the United States and even Australia to work the fields.

"Each year, as growers we worry about the supply of bees and what the weather is like during the critical pollination period," California Farm Bureau Federation First-Vice President Paul Wenger, a Stanislaus County almond grower, told the House panel. "Our crop fortunes rise or fall on what happens."

He noted that he currently pays $130 per hive to pollinate his crop, a steep price compared to the average rental price of $45 per hive in 2003.

The cause of colony collapse disorder is unknown, although poor nutrition, mites, diseases and pesticides have all been suspect. There is also concern that some genetically modified crops may be producing pollen or nectar that is problematic for the bees, said Brandi.

"Lesser known is the fact that some pesticides can also kill or deform immature bees, adversely affect queen and drone viability or may cause bees to lose their memory, which prevents them from flying back to their hive," he said.

The nation's supply of bees was already in danger before the colony collapse disorder came along. For many years, beekeepers have been trying to control the destructive varroa mite, a parasite that has dealt catastrophic losses to the bee industry.

Brandi and Wenger said research is the key to overcoming these current problems, noting the need for more scientists and bee experts at the University of Davis to study the insect's behavior, physiology and genetics. There are currently no active professors of apiculture on the campus, although one UC Extension apiculturist continues to serve the industry, Brandi said. The federal government currently spends less than $10 million a year on bee research.

"The need for additional bee research is obvious," said Brandi. "There are just too many unanswered questions that need to be addressed if the bee industry is to survive and perhaps thrive again."

(Ching Lee is a reporter for Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.)

Permission for use is granted, however, credit must be made to the California Farm Bureau Federation when reprinting this item.

If humanity would get on the same page about all of this, and realize that we must reduce the human population, we could cut it in half in just a few generations. And those people would be living in paradise.